Stepping out for Foster Care Fortnight
Published: 26 May 2021
I Can Foster
Foster carers, and the team who supports them, came together to walk 652km collectively for Foster Care Fortnight on Saturday 22nd May.
Their target was set to highlight the 652 children in the care of Derby City Council, who would benefit from a safe, stable and loving home with foster carers, at the end of the annual two-week campaign to show how fostering transforms young lives.
Ten social workers from the council’s fostering team and their families, and around ten fostering families smiled through Saturday’s dull and damp weather to complete the walk. Their route took them from Darley Park, starting from a giant #ICanFoster sign painted on a slope by the council’s grounds team, to Markeaton Park and lots of 3km laps.
Along the way, the team handed out sweets, balloons and other free gifts to promote fostering with Derby City Council, and were joined by members of the Foster Carers Association.
The event was organised and supported by the Fostering Network, the UK’s leading fostering charity, which runs Foster Care Fortnight. Fostering families across the country were invited to take part, with every step taken during the two-week campaign counting towards the overall goal of a combined 2.5 million steps nationally.
As well as raising awareness of fostering, the walking events also raised money for the Fostering Network, to support its work nationally in offering training and advice to fostering families.
Councillor Evonne Williams, Derby City Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said:
The theme for this year’s Foster Care Fortnight is #WhyWeCare, and everybody who turned out did a fantastic job in showing exactly that.
All children deserve the best possible start in life, and there are hundreds in the care of Derby City Council who are looking for that special person or family to give them a caring and stable background. Finding foster families goes on all year round, and I would urge anyone who is interested to take the first step and contact us to find out more about what fostering involves.